1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a piston actuated lumbar stimulation device that is located inside the back of a chair that rocks back and forth between upright and reclined positions as a user shifts his weight in the chair. The lumbar stimulation device is attached to a gas cylinder bracket that extends vertically within the back of the chair. A push-button controlled gas cylinder is attached to the gas cylinder bracket, and a retractable piston is forced outwardly from the gas cylinder to generate a pushing force for causing the lumbar stimulation device to move towards a user's back to apply a focused massage pressure thereto.
2. Background Art
An individual who is seated in a chair may wish to have a focused pressure applied from the back of the chair to a lower (i.e., lumbar) region of his back to enhance his comfort while seated. In addition to enhancing his comfort, applying a focused pressure to the lower back may stimulate or increase the circulation of blood flow. A conventional chair has no moving parts in the back and, therefore, is incapable of generating a focused pressure to be applied to the lower back of the seated individual. That is, because of the static nature of a typical chair back, especially those common to chairs having a back which reclines when the individual shifts his weight backwards, the individual may experience discomfort in his lower back when he remains seated for a long time. Although electrically powered external attachments are known to be used in combination with a chair back to massage an individual's back, such attachments are frequently expensive, require a source of electrical power to operate, and can become separated from the chair back and misplaced.
Therefore, what would be desirable is a chair having a back that tilts back when a user shifts his weight backwards and within which a lumbar stimulation device is located to apply a focused pressure to the user's lower back without first having to be attached to the chair back or operated from an electrical power source. What would also be desirable is to enable the user to selectively actuate the lumbar stimulation device by depressing a manually accessible push-button.
Reference may be made to my patent application Ser. No. 14/959,994 filed Dec. 4, 2015 for an example of a lumbar stimulation device that is located within the back of a chair and is capable of applying a focused massage pressure against the back of one seated in the chair.